Wrapped in You
by Panda-Lemur
Summary: Nick and Ellis during one of those nights that it all comes back. 5 years in the future. SUPER SAPPY AND FLUFFY AND SHORT I'M SORRY X'D Rated for swearing.


A strangled gasp rang out through the room, bouncing off the walls that were colored a pale navy, but in the dark with only moonlight to illuminate, everything was shaded in blurry greys.

Ellis panted lightly, trying to will his heart to beat slower and not feel like a jack hammer against the underside of his sternum. His eyes scanned around, adjusting to the darkness fairly quickly, ghostly fogginess fading around the edges of his sight. The horrid images went with it, but he could still remember them. Nightmares were much easier to recall when they were based on memories.

The Southerner sighed, bringing up a hand to wipe away the thin sheet of sweat that had beaded on his forehead, before dropping it back down to the mattress on his left side. He then realized that the space his arm was taking up, was not full of moody conman. Ellis frowned at this, looking up and around to see if he could locate the missing gambler.

He saw the window door that led to their balcony open, a light spring breeze making the cream shaded curtains sway. The Georgian blinked slowly at it, before letting out a breath, and with a muffled groan, stood up from the bed.

He slipped on a pair of thin pajama pants over his bare hips, shuffling his un-socked feet on the cold hard wood floor. Rounding the bed frames corner, he peered out of the doorway.

Nick was out there like he suspected, leaning on the railing with his elbows, dressed in his simple dark blue robe. A cigarette dangled from his lips, which to Ellis meant he was either pretty stressed or anxious, since he didn't really smoke much anymore.

He walked quietly onto the stone balcony, saddling up behind the taller man to hug his waist.

Nick let out a little sigh, one of his hands going over Ellis'. "Hey kid…"

Said kid, who wasn't really a kid anymore considering he was 28, rested the side of his face between the older mans shoulder blades. "Can't sleep?" he asked quietly.

The raven took a drag, exhaling tiredly before replying, "No…you?"

"Nuh uh."

"Nightmares?"

He nodded against the strong back, squeezing his eyes shut. "You too?"

"Yeah, me too…"

There was silence between them for a few minutes, only the white noise of some cars in the distance present in the cool air. Their home was a good distance from the highway, and an even better distance from the big city.

Some people might call it 'paranoia', but to the actual survivors of that hell on earth, it was 'necessary caution', which they knew they would be plagued with for the rest of their lives.

"Do ya think…" he swallowed. "Do yuh think they'll ever stop…?"

Nick blinked, green eyes dropping. "It's been 5 years El…I doubt it…"

Ellis bit his bottom lip, trying to stop his throat from constricting, hands gripping the gamblers waist just a tad more firmly.

The so called 'conman' grimaced, snuffing out his cig before turning around slowly, his own arms encircling the hicks back. The brunette pressed his nose into Nick's neck, breathing in his musky cologned scent, before letting out a shuddering breath.

"Hey…"

Ellis ignored him, shoving his forehead in between the lapels of the robe, making contact with the warm chest.

"Hey, look at me."

The mechanic bit the side of his cheek, before looking up into the emeralds that Nick tried to convince him were his eyes. The sight of them comforted him somewhat, like everything that was his lover. His strong but swift hands, his scruffy jaw, even his tummy, which had lost just a little bit of it's firmness over the years.

Nick winced at the desperate look in the Georgians eyes.

Ellis never really got depressed, and was generally the epitome of optimism, but even the strongest, most care-free people weren't immune to trauma. Especially the trauma they had gone through.

"El, I can't say whether or not the dreams will end, if they'll stop haunting us…" He leaned his forehead against the others, "but I do know that we are both here, alive, safe, and together…"

He grinned a little, giving a kiss to the marred tissue on the bridge of Ellis' nose. "We both have our scars, and we'll never forget how we got them…but they are proof we _survived _all of the shit that was thrown at us."

Ellis' fingers unconsciously brushed over the scratches on Nick's chest, which had grown lighter by a few tints.

Nick bent his head down to peck the shorter man's lips. "It's sappy _and_ corny, but I'd deal with all the nightmares for the rest of my life if it means I have you to be there for me on those dark nights when I can't sleep."

The last sentence had Ellis' eyes watering a bit, though he grinned all the same, trying to blink them away. "Yah, that wus sappy…" he buried his face into Nick's neck again, "but it wusn't corny…"

The gambler hugged him a little tighter, before grumbling, "Let's get back to bed. I'm fucking tired…"

Ellis nodded in agreement, letting go so they could both go back inside, stripping off pants and robes to slip under the now cold comforter. Nick wrapped the Southerner in his arms from behind once they settled, nuzzling into the brown curls on the nape of the others neck.

"Thanks Darlin'."

"Mm, for what?"

"For being here with me."

A deep chuckle was given. "I have you to thank for that, on multiple occasions."

"Same goes for me ya know."

Nick smiled, raising himself up a little to place a kiss on his tanned forehead, before once again resting.

Ellis found himself in another one of those moments where he thanked every single one of his lucky stars that he had Nick. There had been so many close calls, too many, where they had almost lost each other. The gambler was right in the end though.

They were both here, and in love with each other to boot.

With those thoughts, he drifted back into sleep, not riddled with nightmares, but encased in the expensive cologne scented warmth that he hoped Nick would always supply for him, until the end of his days.

Whenever that may be.


End file.
